


Take Our Hands and Lead Us

by DixieGrayson



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Under the Red Hood, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Age Swap, Alternate Universe, Angst, Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Batfamily Feels, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Damian Wayne is Batman, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Robin, Disfigurement, Everyone Needs A Hug, No Romance, Permanent Injury, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Jason Todd, Young Dick Grayson, reverse bat brothers, reverse batfamily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-04-24 09:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19170778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixieGrayson/pseuds/DixieGrayson
Summary: "Looking up at the shining signal in the sky I whisper to the Brother that can’t hear “goodbye” before leaving. Whether it’s for him or me is debatable, but in the end it soothes no one. I shed no tears, because there’s none left to cry. Losing someone is not a wound that heals, it is simply one you learn to ignore. I did it with my parents and I did it with Bruce. Which is why yesterday, when I was handed that too big mask and told to suit up, I did with my chin held high. Joining my Batman at his side I vowed to make everyone I’ve lost proud."After losing Jason Todd so soon after Bruce the Bat family is left in mourning and the city is left in a dire situation. 10-year-Old Dick grayson is handed his big brothers old mask and sent to rescue those who are caught up in the latest situation, but in Damians over-stressed state he makes a small but grave miscalculation, Leaving young Dick alone and at the mercy of a hostile stranger.





	1. I Always Wanted a Brother

I remember the day I moved into the manor. The walls were so high that I thought they could hit the clouds on a rainy day, and the floors were so shiny that you could imagine skating across them in the winter. I was so damn impressed that for a split second I nearly forgot why I was placed there. I’d never felt so damn guilty in my little 8-year-old life. I was so impressed by the grandeur of a house that I let my Mums smile escape my memory. Looking back, I can still feel the way water spilled from my eyes just like it did that day, and the resounding ‘snap’ I used to have on repeat in my memory returns with an echo as loud as ever. 

I remember in that moment being taken by the hand. My fingers were wrapped by a fist not hugely bigger than my own, yet it felt so much stronger than my own hand could ever be. I looked up into the sparkling green eyes of its owner and immediately my worries seemed to escape me. He told me his name was Jason. He didn’t try and tell me it’s all going to be ok, he didn’t try and make up some lame excuse about there being a reason for everything. He simply took me to meet the other three occupants of the luxurious hallway, and I was so very grateful for that.   
As the months went by I found myself running to Jason’s room whenever I was scared, alone or just wanting someone who would understand me. Bruce was always busy, Damian was so far up his own ass that he barely noticed me and Tim – well - Tim never really took to me. He never even learnt my name, simply referring to me as ‘replacement’. So, Jason was left alone to help fight away the monsters in my mind, and he did a very good job of it. He was my brother, in every sense of the word. 

Which is why standing here now with Damian’s too heavy hand resting on my shoulder feels so god-damn wrong. I shed no tears, because there’s none left to cry. Losing someone is not a wound that heals, it is simply one you learn to ignore. I did it with my parents and I did it with Bruce. Which is why yesterday, when I was handed that too big mask and told to suit up, I did with my chin held high. Joining my Batman at his side I vowed to make everyone I’ve lost proud. I vowed to make my brother proud. 

Looking up at the shining signal in the sky I whisper to the Brother that can’t hear “goodbye” before leaving. Whether it’s for him or me is debatable, but in the end it soothes no one. Damian makes up some bull story about it being ‘way past Dickies bedtime’ before hauling me into his arms. I bid my farewells to those gathered, playing the role of grieving child perfectly (but isn’t that all I really am?) By the time we reach our suits Damian has put me down. By the time we reach the Batmobile he’s relinquished his hold on me completely. 

Neither of us speak a word on our way to the heart of the city, content to sit and stew in our grief. When we arrive at our destination the problem is clear - there has been an explosion in the ICU unit of Gotham General. All emotions have been left in the car as we launch into action. B shouts orders that I follow diligently as he runs off to the Northern quarter of the ward. Reaching the first beds I can see nothing but the grizzly charred remains of victims. Not allowing the time for my stomach to churn I keep pushing forwards. I search every bed for survivors with no such luck, which is strange at this distance away from the blast …With a fearful realisation my heart stops. Batman’s calculations were wrong. It was the southern ward at the epicentre of the blast. Which means there is still the potential for another explosive somewhere else, with the most likely candidate being at the North end of the building. As quickly as I can I try to relay my information, but it’s too late. I’m pushed back by a burning force, my eyes being blinded with light as a scream tears free from my ragged throat. With no time to think, the Darkness consumes me.


	2. Brother, I have let you down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been absolutely blown away by the response to this fic. Thank you all for kind words and all the love. II will be creating an updating schedule over the holidays so that I can make sure I get each new chapter out on time xx

“You really should be more careful Dick” That voice, it's one I could never forget. “Hey are you listening to me?” reproachfully opening my eyes I am greeted with a sight I haven’t seen in far too long. Sparkling green orbs stare mere millimetres away from my own eyes and a strange sense of home washes over me. “Jay?” I don’t know what else to say – and it’s incredibly rare for a Grayson to be lost for words – I want to accuse the man in front of me of being an imposter, but nobody could imitate those eyes. Instead I attempt to sit up but there’s a weight holding me down, it’s not as heavy as the grief I normally feel pulling me back, but its damn near close. “who else? Stop moving, you are badly injured”. That point seems incredibly inconsequential right now, considering that - stood before me - is a walking, breathing corpse. Instead, I go into an autopilot, following my usual line of questioning. “Where am I?” I feel an initially soothing hand pressing some kind of cream against my arm, I look down to see where the excruciating pain that follows is coming from. It was a mistake. My arm looks as though its been melted, with blisters, welts and areas of skin simply missing. I feel bile rise in my throat, and as if the image wasn’t hard enough to swallow – I could never have prepared for the white-hot pain that was forthcoming to strip my bones. I scream. I draw my eyes tightly shut. I can do nothing else. “shh Dick you really need to stop, he’ll hear you!” Footsteps run towards me, followed by a metal door slamming open opposite me “what the fuck is going on in here!” I’m left speechless. I can’t respond, I can’t move. Not because of the strange man in the doorway, nor the decrepit and definitely unhygienic room around me, but rather the lack of one attribute. There was only one route to or from this room, not even the stereotypical air vent. Yet somehow – Jason was nowhere to be seen  
__________________________________________________________________________________

“Sir I really must insist you rest” A simple miscalculation. How could one mistake so small ruin so many people's lives? “Master Timothy I really must insist that you rest. It has been days”. Stupid bastard was so eager to jump into his dead Father's shoes. Not that he could ever fill them. One stupid miscalculation “Tim please!”. A 10 year old died today, not that we’ve found a body…”That’s it Alfred!” I spring to my feet like a jack in the box, whirling around to face the wise old butler. “That’s what sir?” I shake him a little, hands on his shoulders. “There was no body Alfred! We found Damian the moment we arrived, and he was at the epicentre of the blast, but Dick – who wasn’t even as close – we never found a body”. I sound crazy. Maybe I am crazy. I really don’t care anymore. “Don’t you see Alfred! Either someone stole his body, or Dick is still alive”. False hope may well be the fool’s solution -but maybe I am just fool enough that it’ll work.


End file.
